Routine tasks and long hours aren’t usually a recipe for enjoyment, but all can be forgotten with the presence of a fellow co-worker. Senior Tina Wilkens, who works at the Sencha Tea Ball in the Mall of America, has found ways to transform monotony into adventure in the one and a half years she has been working. 

“My co-workers are very fun, and they make the job worth it. But there are lots of moments of dullness, especially during the week, a lot of times in the fall and spring,” Wilkens said. 

Many times, Wilkens finds herself sitting behind the counter, doing cleaning tasks, and occasionally eating behind the bar. Though co-workers provide much-needed entertainment, customers can also be such a source. On the job, Wilkens finds herself bemused at some orders and the people behind them. 

“There was the caramel-mango shake, which is one of the worst things I’ve had,” Wilkens said.  

Her most memorable customers are those that stumble on pronouncing orders, or who simply have odd tastes. 

“Someone ordered a loose leaf tea—a ginger-lime rooibos—and then put caramel in it,” Wilkens said. 

Many foreign foods, like quinoa, are met with difficulty to English-speakers. Teas, Wilkens observed, apparently have similar struggles. 

“And there’s also the people who I guess just don’t know how to order or don’t know what things are—we get lots of Aloi jelly, I got an Aioli jello once [instead of Aloe]. People will have any way to pronounce Tapioca pearls: Topeka pearls, tropical pearls, literally anything else.”

While behind the bar, Wilkens observed Sencha’s role in a busy mall environment and its shopper’s varied needs. She was surprised, however, that these needs included grossly overpriced avocados. 

“Someone once came in and said, ‘Can I get a whole for four dollars?’ And on our menu, we have avocados, and under avocados, it says ‘whole for four dollars and a half for two dollars,’ and someone just wanted a whole for four dollars. I did get permission from my boss to sell a whole avocado sealed in a cup for four dollars if they ask me.”

Despite the usually nice crowd of shoppers, the mall can also be home violent characters. In a mix of horror and comedy, Wilkens recalled the moment she learned that a man had thrown a 5-year-old boy off a third-floor balcony. 

“I was actually there the day it happened [the baby dropping]. I didn’t hear a whole lot about it, but when my boss told me and I was like ‘oh my god,’ but honestly it’s not surprising.”

Some of those threatening characters even manage to find their way inside Sencha. 

“We have a few people who come in, who have been banned from other malls but haven’t been banned from the Mall of America. One guy, who actually said something about taking a gun into the Mall.”

Ultimately, the pepperings of outrageous orders and events highlight the quirks of working in a mall setting.  

“It’s not like working in a regular store, it’s just a different environment,” Wilkens said.